Bastion of Carthia's Light
The Bastion of Carthia's Light is a fortress located on the edge of the Highlands of Cartham. The Bastion sits in the middle of two roads that enter the Highlands, one on each side, and is perched high atop a peak in between them. A sheer cliff face forms a natural border all the way from the northwest side to the northeast side. A stone staircase to the citadel runs clockwise up the peak from the Bastion Bridge in the southeast. The south side of the citadel faces the main road into the Highlands, so a high stone wall was constructed for defense. It is unclear how many soldiers defended the Bastion, but due to the scale of the fortress, it's likely that many skilled soldiers were needed. The Bastion Parade Ground is to the south of the citadel, and it is possible to see the living quarters at the top of the citadel, so it's clear that there were soldiers present continuously, even in peacetime. Reaching the Bastion requires crossing Blackhelm River and Bastion Bridge. Due to its elevation, transporting provisions to the Bastion would have been extremely difficult. During times of siege it was not possible to reinforce the position. It would have had to be built to be self-sufficient and must have had enough provisions to last several months or perhaps several years. The Bastion's primary function was to repel invaders from the north and the western sea and keep them from marching on central Cartham. The batteries were set up to annihilate an enemy coming from the sea. However, the battle that ultimately took place against the Ambersight Elves had the Bastion facing an enemy assaulting them from central Cartham. There were two routes that led from central Cartham to the Highlands: the route that crossed from the west to east on the south side of the Bastion and the western road that descended a long road into the valley. The western road was directly exposed to an attack from the fortress, which made it unsuitable for an invasion. Even if the invader managed to make it through the barrage headed its way from the Bastion, from behind it would have been exposed to counterattack from the fortress. Thus, it would have made more sense for an enemy to try to attack via the southern road, but they would have had to face the three well-positioned batteries if they made the attempt. It was thought that the powerful batteries would provide an onslaught that a foe could not hope to survive. Due to these factors, the Bastion could have defended itself from any traditional foe attacking from either direction and was a more than sufficient defensive position for the large tactical role it played in the defense of Cartham. However, the Ambersight's assault was outside the realm of what those that designed the Bastion could have imagined. Faced with an unanticipated amount of firepower and numbers from an unanticipated route, the impenetrable fortress finally fell. History The Great War With the Royal Family of Cartham captured, the kingdom's soldiers were left in disarray and fell back to this famed fortress in order to put up an effective resistance. The soldiers were overrun, and the fortress left in ruin. Category:Forts